Follow-up: Colombian minister quits over “para-politica” scandal

Colombian Foreign Minister Maria Consuelo Araujo (image) quit from her post earlier today and paid the price for last Friday’s arrest of her brother- a key senator and ally of the president. Though President Alvaro Uribe initially supported her, concerns over the Colombian government’s image abroad led him to withdraw his support.

The administration of President Alvaro Uribe has come under fire lately due to accusations of corruption by his political allies and quarreling with neighboring countries. He has even been accused by the former director of Colombia’s federal statistics office of having purposefully manipulated data on crime. Uribe has maintained high popularity amongst Colombians though that may change very soon as his administration becomes more embroiled in scandal.

Image- playfuls.com

Links- Guardian UK, Angus Reid Consultants, The Latin Americanist, BBC News, CNN